General Question

mambo's avatar

What can I do to stop snoring?

Asked by mambo (2749points) July 18th, 2012
11 responses
“Great Question” (3points)

My family and my boyfriend have all been complaining about my horrible snoring lately. I have been told I sound like an overweight, old man with a chest cold when I snore. Its extremely embarrassing.

What can I do to help stop snoring?

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Answers

harple's avatar

The predominant advice is lose weight if needed, and stop drinking alcohol, as these are both hugely contributing factors.

Beyond that, there are nasal strips you can use, things to stop you lying on your back (sew a ball into the back of your nightshirt) etc.

wilma's avatar

I would suggest having a sleep study done to see if you have any issues such as sleep apnea, that can be a serious health issue.
My husband’s snoring has gotten so much better since he has been using a CPAP machine. The look isn’t very sexy, but I do love the quiet, and we both sleep better now.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

My nose has been broken twice, both times pretty badly broken. Think I can not snore? And my BMI is 18–19.

picante's avatar

I’ll second Wilma’s suggestion regarding the CPAP—my husband has been using one for ten years, and it has been life-changing for both of us. Rather than the freight train that used to lie beside me, I know have a wonderful little white noise. If you can think of the device as the face mask of a fighter pilot, it goes a long way toward mitigating the aesthetics of the situation ;-)

marinelife's avatar

Go to a doctor who specializes in sleep issues. You may need surgery done or a device.

LuckyGuy's avatar

I had nasal polyps removed and now sleep like a baby – and so does anyone around me.

laureth's avatar

I too am married to a CPAP man, and it is so much easier to sleep. He used to snore so badly that I sometimes had to sleep in another room, or unhappily wear earplugs, or just plain old shove him with my knee when it got bad, so he’d roll over and stop for a couple minutes. So after a couple years, he went in for a sleep study and learned he had sleep apnea, and was actually coming out of sleep mode several times a minute all night long. The CPAP stopped the snoring and lets us both sleep the night peacefully, feeling rested in the morning. Since sleep apnea does bad things if untreated, you may want to look into it for more than just the snoring. It’s not just old overweight dudes that have it.

gondwanalon's avatar

Ziezta sleep strips work very well for me. It sounds weird that a simple u-shaped piece of paper tape around the lower part of my mouth would stop my snoring but it did. My wife and I are both sleeping through the night now. I’ve even started to dream again. Go to Ziezta.com to buy them. It costs about $20 for a month’s worth of sleep strips. BUT I have found that simple and much cheaper paper-tape works just as well. Pleasant dreams!

wundayatta's avatar

See a sleep doctor. If necessary, they may want you to do a sleep study. It is possible that CPAP is a solutions, but there are many other things that can help. There are dental solutions, too, that help open up your breathing passages so that the flaps don’t flap in the wind and make that snoring noise that annoys people so.

A sleep doctor will not tell you about the dental solution, however. They want the money from selling the CPAP machine. BTW, that’s what I use.

hearkat's avatar

Start with an ENT, to see if there are any issues with your nasal or pharyngeal passages. They will order a sleep study and may suggest other testing to determine the cause.

My fiancé has been on CPAP for nearly a year, and not only do we both sleep better, but he says he feels much better in the morning and throughout the day. He is not overweight and he hasn’t had a drink in over 10 years, it’s just the way he’s built.

@Adirondackwannabe – assuming you’ve chosen against or ruled out surgery, have you had a sleep study or tried CPAP?

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